Making Gold Nuggets

Does not sound like your buyer is paying you the right price for nuggets if it is a specimen 3oz or more it worth much more than spot price, they are prized by collectors for there individuality, which translates to the higher price, the reason I mentioned it,you do not want a buyer to rob you blind or melt down a one of a kind nugget, I was not trying to sound upset just stating the facts of prospecting

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That is considered a chispa and also worth more money in its natural state, I have been placer mining and scuba diving since 1975 and still find gold on a regular basis on the Columbia and Yakima Rivers, alot of the ground on the Columbia is to hot to use a VLF gold only detector, I have to break out my Whites TDI and even it will hit some very large hot rocks 3-4 ft accross, I noticed alot of the guys posting seem to have almost no experience at prospecting, that also reminds me to ask if anyone has done any meteorite hunting? I was thinking about getting a two box coil from Garrett for my GTI 2500 to look for deeply buried meteores, it should pickup targets that most PIs will miss, I am also an Electronics Technician since 1984 so I understand metal detecting circuits pretty well, when I first started as a tech I worked on alot of industrial metal detectors, food processing equipment, so I have a ton of experience, but there is still alot to learn..
Happy Hunting

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Well prospecting is hard work.  It's not about the money even at today's gold prices.  I live in a gold rich area, and even here I don't think I could do it on a full time basis to make ends meet.  For me it's a hobby... something to do to take my mind off of the tedium of day to day requirements.  I'm going to get as much out of my hobby as I can though, and keeping the stuff in it's natural state seems to pay better than mucking around with it.  Less effort too.

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You just described what amounts to 8-10 hours of work Rick.  What will that yield you?  $100, $150 bucks?  That's great for a weekend hobby, but once it becomes a 5 or 6 day a week thing it becomes a J. O. B.  and I'm not willing to sacrifice my hobby to make a job out of it and try to live on that meager income.  I have a saying that goes like this.  "I'm not going to be both broke and tired at the same time".  I'm not getting out of bed for any job that's going to leave me both broke and tired.  I'll wear myself out for a hobby, because I consider it fun, but when it becomes a job, forget it if it doesn't pay handsomely.

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Well come on down here to North Georgia and I'll show you at least a dozen places you can pull down a hundred bucks a day for a ten hour day.  You'll stay wet, cold, tired and hungry most of the time, but hey, at least it's fun, right?

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There is not much gold in Georgia compared to the Pacific Northwest I picked up a half an ounce in one day just dinking around, in one of the smaller gold producing areas here in Washington state, you do not know this area like I do, I have been mining this area since 75 and just got serious about it this summer, not only that Oregon is only 38 miles away and is a big gold producer, California is the biggest producer it is only 275 miles away, you can work in Georgia all you want and you will not find much it has only produced small amounts of placer gold, I could make a very good living at it here on the west coast where the real gold is at, I have moved 4-6 yards a day and it is still alot of fun to me, I do not know about you guys but I have been pumping iron since 1968 so moving rocks is not work to me it is recreation, most of the gold in my area is flood gold it is in the first 1-18 inches of gravel almost every pan has gold in it, I use a beach box and the Columbia river  has always been a good producer of placer gold!! the gold is not very big but there is lots of it, there would be more people mining here but alot of them think like you can't do anything it's to hard , work is a four letter word, I can make a  hundred bucks here in an hour or so, thats 3-5 yards for a half days work ya whimp, you do not know how to prospect but I DO, you have obviously never done it!!!!

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Hi to all....

After ready all these posts... I decided to express my 2 cents worth.... My opinions are not meant to challenge or offend anyone... if they do, I apologise right up front... however, these opinions are based on many, many years of practical experience...

I started prospecting in the mid 1960's... took a few years off for a 3 tour in Viet Nam... and other things.... ..... but earnestly began prospecting in 1972.... and about 1980 turned my hobby into an occupation.... and for the most part, my income has been made from mining ever since....

Once you make the decision to become a professional or commercial miner... please have plenty of fluid cash available...as your commercial endeavor will drain you dry long before you make a lot of money at mining... in my case, I consider myself a moderately successful commercial miner.... but it wasn't until around 1998 or 99 that I began\n to consistently make money at mining... From the days of building our own dredges in the '60's to using nearly $1,000,000 in heavy equipment today.. a lot has changed in my life...would I change anything..probably not.... This is just a warning to you...that in my case it took nearly 30 years of prospecting and mining to see some good and consistant success...

If you are considering stepping up from a casual recreational miner to something more serious.. take a serious assessment of your cost...For instance, just for one weekend outing... you have your time invested.. your equipment cost...fuel... food... and so on and so on....You'll soon find, that a week end fun prospecting trip will cost a couple hundred dollars..... now multiply you cost several times as you increase you volume of gravel processed....and cut your projected earning by 50%.... IS THIS WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO DO FOR AN INCOME...?  Pencil it out first... make sure you are making a wise choice...

Concerning nuggets.... I have found my share.. from a 2 1/2 pounder to very fine gold so small it is barely visible...  Jewelry quality nuggets can be so small to be used as inlays... or as large as 1/4 to 1/2 ounce "hangers" ... above that... you start to get into collector quality....

Jewelry quality nuggets will bring better than spot and it varies as to how much...mostly due to supply and demand.... and the collector specimen will bring up to 3 times spot usually...and more if it is just that one in a million special nugget...

For me, the handing of the gold cost time...which is money....I'd rather be processing gravel to collect more gold... that trying to sell the gold I have...It becomes a personal choice as to which is a better business choice....so I often melt everything except for those very few exceptional nuggets and turn the gold into a commodity I can use...like CASH!!!!  which is why I mine gold...so I can pay my bills and build up my retirement fund... which will usually increase in value faster than an old dusty nugget setting around for a few years... I can put my cash to work over and over again and again...and with the timing I choose.... but the nugget just gets dusty and only follows the trend in gold prices...at its choosing...

I usually use AAA metal and refining near Portland, Oregon to sell and melt my gold...  Under 50 ounce lots, they'll charge a $75 assay and the give you back either pure certified gold or cash for the actual gold minus a 7% processing fee..... over 50 ounce lots and the fee drops to 3%....and with over 50 ounce lots ... they will buy the silver and other impurities in the gold... They give me 50 % of the weighed gold at the sale and the balance of the actual pure gold amount and impurities at spot, minus any fees...usually in about 2 weeks... I've sold gold to them for several years... they are honest.....quick and very trustworthy....

As to purity of gold.... I've mined gold from Alaska to Mexico....and the nuggets and flat pieces that assayed anywhere from 71% pure to about 93%... It is a very rare situation that gold is above 95% pure in its natural state... it does happen... but it is rare...I've found most gold is usually in the mid 80% in purity range.....

I have from time to time melted my own ingots just for easier shipping and handling... but their isn't much advantage to melting your own gold...because it isn't certified...it doesn't have that government issued smelting stamp on it by the refiner...only then can you legitimately sell the ingot as .999 fine gold...or silver ..or whatever...

Below are some pictures... one of 3 1/2 ounces in a jar...very little is of jewelry quality..... another is of about 2 pounds of gold nuggets in my hands... these are jewelry and collector specimens..... and a third pix of one of my commercial processing plants....

I wish everyone's gold dream come true... and best success in your prospecting....

Klondike Ike....





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